Pedioplanis benguelensis (BOCAGE, 1867)
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Pedioplanis benguelensis
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| Higher Taxa | Lacertidae, Eremiadinae, Sauria, Lacertoidea, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Bocage's Sand Lizard |
| Synonym | Eremias benguellensis BOCAGE 1867: 221 (nomen nudum) Eremias benguelensis BOCAGE 1867: 229 Eremias benguellensis — BOULENGER 1918 Pedioplanis benguellensis — ARNOLD 1989 Mesalina benguellensis — SZCZERBAK 1989 Pedioplanis benguellensis — BAUER & GÜNTHER 1995 Pedioplanis benguelensis — MAKOKHA et al. 2007 Pedioplanis benguellensis — CONRADIE et al. 2012 Pedioplanis beguellensis — SCHLEICHER 2020 (in error) Pedioplanis beguelensis — PARRINHA et al. 2021: 18 |
| Distribution | SW Angola, N Namibia (presumably only marginal regions of the northernmost Namib desert) Type locality: “Maconjo, Angola”; “‘Benguella” (= Benguela, Angola) fide CONRADIE et al. 2012. Neotype locality: Chimalavera Nature Reserve, vicinity of Main Camp [-12.83377°, 13.16991°, 293 m], Benguela Province. This is in the vicinity of the original type locality < 35 km distant). |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Neotype. CAS 266242, adult male, designated by Parrinha et al. 2021. Syntype: ZMB 7762 (probably lost fide BAUER & GÜNTHER 1995) |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Pedioplanis benguelensis is a boldly striped and medium-sized Sand Lizard, with an average SVL of 48 mm (max 58 mm) and a tail roughly two and a half times the SVL (Fig. 2). It can be distinguished from other spe- cies of the genus in Angola and Namibia by the following combination of characters: (1) lower eyelid with two en- larged transparent scales (rarely one—PEM R24110, or three—CAS 266239), with two to four smaller ones below; (2) five (rarely four or six) supralabials anterior to the subocular and usually three posteriorly; (3) two (sometimes one or three) rows of small granules between the supraoculars and supraciliaries; (4) a group of 9–26 (>13 in 75% of specimens) small granules preceding the supraoculars; (5) ventral scales in ten longitudinal rows; (6) presence of three bold black stripes extending from the back of the head to the base of the tail. The background coloration of the dorsum is brownish, with black stripes intercalated with thinner yellowish lines. The vertebral stripe splits at the neck, and in rare cases may be entirely divided into two thinner lines. Dorsolateral stripes are bold and well- defined. On the flanks there is a dark lateral stripe that starts behind the eye and extends to the hindlimb insertion, usually faint and reticulated, and often with a series of yellow spots along its lower edge. There may also be a thin and irregular line or series of streaks of reddish to black coloration, starting behind the labials and extending to the hindlimb insertion. The hindlimbs and the tail are greyish to reddish brown, with the legs often covered above by more or less distinct pale circles surrounded by dark pigmentation. The underparts are white, sometimes reddish at the base of the tail and hindlimbs. |
| Comment | Synonymy: Pedioplanis benguelensis has been previously synonymized with P. namaquensis, first by BOCAGE 1895 himself, later by LAURENT 1964 and others butis now considered a valid species. |
| Etymology | Named after the type locality. Bocage mentioned this species first as Eremias benguellensis, without description, referring to another paper that was published back to back, in which he spelled it benguelensis, this time with a description. Hence the initial spelling should be considered a nomen nudum. |
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